WEBLINK BLOG

Last week, WebLink hosted a webinar for business associations and chambers of commerce titled, "5 Ways Your Website Lets Your Members Down."

With websites being a critical component of associations' marketing and communications plans, many organizations don't realize how their websites can be disappointing their members and adversely affecting member retention and new member sales.

The webinar detailed some of the common mistakes associations make with their websites, how those mistakes affect their members and ways to correct those mistakes and deliver value to your members. Plus, the webinar provided additional tips on producing great website content, including 25 sample blog posts for associations to get started right away.

Here are some of the top questions from the webinar.

1. How often should we change content on our site?

At a minimum, I'd recommend updating each page on your site once a year. Of course, this doesn't include news articles, press releases and blog posts, which you should be creating weekly. There are two main reasons for updating the pages on your site.

First, your members and your target audience expect your association to be forward thinking and actively participating in the community of businesses you serve. If your website pages have the exact same content for years, you'll appear out of touch for many of your members and they may become disappointed with the value they are receiving.

Second, Google and other search engines view websites with updated content as being more relevant for searches. This means your website will have a greater chance of coming up high in search results for terms about your industry or community. More traffic to your website helps your members gain more exposure and helps your association get in front of more potential members.

The webinar also detailed key points that business associations should consider when developing a mobile strategy. These included reviewing data and surveying members to determine the best solutions for your association.

Here are some of the top questions from the webinar.

- See more at: http://blog.weblinkinternational.com/blog/membership-marketing-and-technology/top-questions-about-mobile-strategies-for-associations#sthash.SolnVecX.dpuf

2. How can we make our business directory more search engine friendly and valuable to our members?

There are some technical ways to make your directory more effective for searches and then there is content for your members. Without going into all the technical ways your website should be optimized, I will share that creating pages with the right information in the right location on the page can help search engines find it more effectively. WebLink's search engine optimized business directory does this automatically and creates some dramatic results. In fact, WebLink clients with the WebLink Local business directory and WebLink websites average a 67% increase in traffic from search engines.

For content, make sure you are adding complete contact information for each member, along with a detailed business description. Include logos, photos and videos to help your members stand out. And, by including links to each members' social media profiles on their directory listing, you'll give them more ways to connect with potential customers.

3. We have a small staff. Would a blog really help our association?

Yes! Blogging is a great way to easily add updated content to your website and provide information that your members will value. Many website content management systems now include a blog. And, there are plenty of other low-cost blogging solutions available. too. For more information and details about creating value for your members, check out these recent posts:

- See more at: http://blog.weblinkinternational.com/blog/membership-marketing-and-technology/dont-settle-for-relevance-create-value-for-your-association-members#sthash.iy8apIqh.dpuf

4. You mentioned a presentation about creating content for association members. Where can I get that?

In November, WebLink hosted another webinar titled, "6 Ways to Produce Content Your Members Value." You can find a recap of that webinar with a link to the presentation and a recording of the webinar here: 6 Ways to Produce Content Your Members Value.

We'll be scheduling more webinars on how associations and chambers of commerce are using association management software, websites, social media and other technology to deliver value to their members and grow their business. Please let me know what topics you'd like covered.

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